Spiders
by the doctor's next dance
Summary: Much reveals his great fear of spiders, much to the gang's annoyance... AU, a little episode that takes place just after Robin and his gang become outlawed. Series 1, Episode 1


**Spiders**

Robin shifted on the forest floor. It may not have been as warm as the Holy Lands, but the mossy turf beneath his head was strangely more comforting than the grainy sand he had been used to. He curled himself up in his cloak, folding the cloth over his hands, to keep his fingers from freezing, as sleep reached out its fluttering tendrils to draw him into its warm confines.

It had been a long week; Much and he had managed to walk half of the length and breadth of England, return home, annoy the Sheriff and his new right hand man, Sir Guy of Gisbourne, become reinstated in Locksley, free some prisoners, become outlawed, and were now living under the open sky once again.

He looked across the darkening clearing to see Will Scarlett and Allan sleeping soundly by the charcoaled remains of their fire. His mouth set as he observed the raw, red marks around their throats, the remaining signs of their recent ordeal with the Sheriff. It was wrong that for such a pathetic crime their lives could be snatched away from them. Under the old Sheriff, this would never have happened.

Perhaps he had been rash in his earlier decision to throw caution to the wind, but if he were given his chance again, he would make the same choice. He had lost everything, but he still had his sense of pride, and for Robin, that was something that he valued very highly. It had been instilled in him as a young boy by his father; "the most important thing you own, Robin, is your pride, and your honour. Watch over them, son, and never do anything to jeopardise them." As an English Lord, such a sense of duty and responsibility to maintain your dignity was invaluable, in order to maintain the right to protect and care for your people.

The quiet of the forest was suddenly broken by a shout from the lump of blankets to Robin's right. Much leapt up, screeching loudly, holding his blankets to his chest as if they were made of precious gold thread.

The three outlaws looked up, starting from their sleep, to see what the commotion was all about.

"What is it?"

"They after us again?"

Robin sat up and looked at Much pointedly. "What is it now, Much?"

Much raised a shaking hand and pointed towards his makeshift bed. "A…. a – spider!"

Allan shook his head, and swearing under his breath, threw himself back down into his pile of blankets.

Robin looked exasperated. "I thought we'd got over this. I'm sure you saw much bigger ones in the Holy Lands."

"Yes, but they're not the same as English spiders."

"How?" Robin challenged, folding his arms over his chest, all thoughts of sleep abandoned.

"English spiders move differently. They.. scuttle about, in the gloom." He shivered.

"Much. Go back to bed, and ignore them. The more you make a fuss, the more they'll antagonise you."

Much shifted about on his feet, as he looked worriedly towards where the culprit had last been seen.

Rolling his eyes, Robin got to his feet, and went over to where Much was standing. Crouching down, he cast an eye about for the spider, and saw, in a patch of grass lit by the moon, a tiny, aloof insect.

"Much, it's the size of my fingernail!" Robin announced, exasperated.

"The smaller they are, the more deadly." Much eyed the spider with a watchful eye.

"Much; it has been a long day. Stop fussing, and go back to bed." Robin strode back over to his belongings. "Now, I am going to sleep, and nothing, not even the Sheriff himself, or a gang of men brandishing swords at us, is going to stop me."

"It's funny you should say that, Robin," said Will quietly, pointing up above them to a high ridge, overlooking the clearing. Robin turned and saw several men surrounding them, glaring down at them as they displayed their hefty staffs and weapons.

"This is our forest, I think you'll find."

Suddenly, spiders were the least of their worries.

A/N As you might be able to guess, that was written for a prompt called "Spiders" – le shock! I haven't posted a fic on here for ages, so please could you welcome me back to the fold with lots of reviews?! Thank you, and thanks for reading! I hope I managed to make you smile :D


End file.
